A New Focus on Cybersecurity

The department has replaced the two previous tracks with those having more relevance
in today's ever-evolving technological landscape -- network and information security
(cybersecurity), and software development.

"Previously, the M.S. program was designed primarily for students who had earned a
bachelor's degree in computer science," says Lisa Lancor, graduate coordinator for the department. "But we had been getting increased interest
from individuals who had bachelor's degrees in other disciplines and wanted to move
into the computer field. We have students who majored in music, political science
and other disciplines not closely related to computer science. So, we revamped the
program to make it more flexible."

Among the changes enacted is the establishment of a single prerequisite course, instead
of three such courses. The new prerequisite is a 4-credit course on computer programming
and data structures. Students then take 12 core credits, as well as 18 credits in
either of the two tracks. Students are then required to pass a capstone, typically
a 6-credit thesis.

One of the new courses offered for those engaged in the cybersecurity track is "Ethical
Hacking and Penetration Testing." In this course, students learn how to test whether
networks are secure and how to enhance that security.

"There is a huge need for individuals who have an expertise in this area," Lancor
says. "The number of companies and organizations whose websites are hacked is growing
all the time. These companies want to hire individuals who can detect and fix these
security issues, but there really is a shortage of such people."

Lancor says that many companies actually hire individuals to try to break into their
network system (without causing any damage). The idea is that if they can hack into
it, the system needs to be upgraded and fixed. If it can't be hacked, it indicates
the system is probably secure, at least at that time.

She notes that cyber attacks are occurring more frequently these days and the hackers
are becoming more sophisticated at cybercrime. "As cyber attacks become more sophisticated,
demand will increase for workers with security skills."

Lancor points to U.S. Department of Labor projections that indicate employment of
network and computer systems administrators (which includes security specialists)
is expected to increase by 23 percent from 2008 to 2018. Similarly, the department
projects that the number of computer software engineers and computer programmers will
rise by 21 percent in that same time period.

She also says that in addition to individual hackers, foreign governments hostile
to the United States are more inclined these days to try to wreak havoc with U.S.
networks. In fact, The U.S. Department of Defense has increased its allocation for
cyber operations by 20 percent in its 2014 budget. Many experts are predicting that
future wars and hostilities among nations will include cyber warfare.